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“Asshole,” she hisses, as I leave her to finish dressing on her own.
“At least you have one thing straight,” I reply over my shoulder. Saint and Felix watch me, both in a state of stunned shock as I cross her bedroom back to them. “She will be ready soon,” I tell them, making sure I’m loud enough for her to hear me. Her answering growl brings a smile to my face, and I realize I enjoyed that. Maybe I really am fucked in the head.
CHAPTER11
Audrey
The yellow andsilky hem doesn’t feel long enough as I emerge from my bedroom. I briefly entertained the thought of locking myself inside the confines, but Austin would have broken down the door to drag me out.
Which shouldnotmake slick gather between my legs. Hell, the way he manhandled me should have me running from the penthouse—contract or no contract—not ready to strip back down to my underwear for his eyes to devour me again.
Yeah, I am screwed. When three sets of intense eyes land on me, two with concern, the other with triumph, I smooth down my dress and cross my arms over the barely there fabric.
“Happy?” I practically spit the word at him, and he grins.
“Ecstatic,” Austin clips, his violet orbs running a trail down my bare legs to my boots. His face tightens as he takes them in, but he doesn’t say a word about my worn footwear.
“You look breathtakingly beautiful,” Felix murmurs, and I feel my cheeks pink.
“The car is waiting,” Austin says and spins on his heel.
I follow, because what else am I going to do? But as they fill the elevator, I come to a full stop, my eyes going wide. My mouth works around words that don’t come out, and Dean stills, his sharp gaze alert as he inhales.
“You two go ahead. I forgot something. I’ll come down with Audrey.” He steps out, hitting a button as he does, and the doors slide shut before either of them can voice an objection. “Are you going to be okay riding with me?”
I shake my head to clear it. He just lied to his pack to make me more comfortable. I am going to melt into a puddle of feelings right here in front of him. He may be an alpha, but he may be a different sort, and that is dangerous.
“Yeah. We should go before he comes back and holds me down to change my shoes.”
I toe the floor and look down at my boots that don’t go with the cheerful yellow dress he put me in. Small victories, but at the moment, it made me feel like a silly child. My defiance would have embarrassed my mom if she were alive. However, she always aimed to please my dad and wouldn't have understood my need to disobey an alpha's orders.
Dean grimaces. “He isn’t usually like that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for him,” I reply. This is the bed I made, and now I’m going to lie in it. “I’ll play this role, but I’m going to do it on my terms.”
When the elevator opens up again, I resolutely lift my chin and step inside. Dean follows me and leans against the opposite wall. His presence isn’t overbearing, but I am very aware of him as an alpha. My perfume seeps from me, filling the space. His fingers turn white as he grips the banister at his back, but he doesn’t react besides that, which is probably for the best. I should probably mention to Austin that my heat is close and being alone with them is a bad idea, because my body is not connecting with my brain at the moment.
Once we reach ground level, he pushes the iron gate to the side and launches himself from the space. I follow slowly as his chest moves to inhale a deep breath of non-perfumed air. Pressing my lips together, I try not to blush, but I can feel the heat spreading up my neck, anyway. My fingers curl in, looking for the hem of my hoodie that Austin had confiscated from me like I was a child.
I should replace it. He is right. It was old and more of something that should be trashed than worn. But it is all I have left. And I know it's silly, but even though I lost my entire world when my father was betrayed, having it made me feel like I haven't lost it all. That I’d wake up and it would be all some horrible nightmare.
Shoving the intrusive and depressing thoughts away, I step next to a now relaxed-looking Dean. He holds his arm out for me, and I suck in a deep breath. I knew touching in public would be a thing, but my stomach flips over as I gaze at his suit covered arm. It isn’t really touching if it is fabric, right?
Forcing my hand on his bicep, I swear I can feel it contract beneath my fingers, as if my small touch is making him as aware of me as I currently am of him. He leads us through the lobby, a friendly smile on his face. Wide eyes follow us, and I swallow. I am not ready for the spotlight.
As we push out into the bright morning light, he shields his eyes with those expensive ass sunglasses.
“Why do you wear those?”
He looks over at me quizzically and arches a blond brow behind the frames. “What do you mean?”
“They cost as much as a fleet of cars or a few houses,” I say.
He chuckles. “When you have so much money you don’t know what to do with it, you buy expensive shit.”
“You could help people with the cost of those.” It isn’t my place to judge, and I’m not, not really. It is just an observation.
“Well then, it is probably a good thing that I help people too.” He winks behind the darkened lens, not taking offense at my comment thankfully.
